Per-game referee and umpire rates on Long Island run roughly $40-$150+ depending on sport, age/level, and crew size — flag football and rec soccer sit at the low end, ice hockey and varsity wrestling at the high end, with most team sports (basketball, lacrosse, baseball/softball, field hockey, volleyball) landing in the $50-$110 range per official. Panel-judged and meet-based formats — gymnastics, cheerleading, martial arts, swim/track meets, water polo, dodgeball and kickball brackets — price around the event's structure rather than a flat per-game number. None of the figures below include the standard 25-50% last-minute premium.
Per-Game Rates by Sport
| Sport | Level | Typical Rate |
|---|---|---|
| Flag football | Youth | $40-$65 |
| Soccer | U8-U14 rec | $50-$75 |
| Basketball | Youth rec | $45-$70 per official |
| Volleyball | Youth/school | $45-$80 per official |
| Pickleball / cricket / rugby | Club/league | $45-$90 |
| Soccer | U15-U18 / travel | $65-$90 per official |
| Lacrosse | Youth | $55-$85 per official |
| Field hockey | Modified-JV | $60-$100 per official |
| Baseball / softball | Youth/travel | $50-$110 per umpire |
| Field hockey | Varsity/club | $75-$130 per official |
| Tournament officiating (any sport) | Per official, per game | $50-$110 |
| Wrestling | Dual meet | $55-$130 per meet |
| Ice hockey | Youth/travel | $50-$150+ per official |
Every row above is pulled straight from that sport's own guide — see our youth sports referee cost breakdown for the full context on soccer, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, flag football, ice hockey, wrestling, and volleyball, our field hockey officials guide for the level-by-level field hockey table, and our pickleball referees guide for match-format pricing. If you're staffing a bracketed event across multiple fields rather than a single game, our tournament referees guide covers the per-official, per-game tournament rate and how to budget a full weekend.
Sports Priced by Event, Not Per Game
Not every sport we staff fits a flat per-game number, and it's worth knowing which ones don't before you request a quote expecting one. Panel-judged formats — gymnastics, cheerleading, and martial arts tournaments — price around judge-panel size and how many routines, rounds, or mats run through the day. Meet-based sports — swim, track and field, and water polo — price around meet length and how many specialized official roles a meet requires, not one person watching one contest. Bracket-format social sports — dodgeball and kickball — usually run as a flat event-day rate for corporate and charity brackets rather than per game, the same model our corporate & charity event guide covers.
💵 Crew size moves the number more than the sport does: a single-official youth rec game and a three-official travel or varsity game in the same sport can differ by $30-$60 per game just from adding officials. Before comparing sports against each other, check how many officials your level actually requires — our crew size guide by sport breaks that down.
What Actually Moves the Price Within a Sport
- Level of play — rec sits lowest, travel and club sit in the middle, varsity and tournament brackets sit highest. Our rec vs. travel requirements guide covers why moving up a level usually raises both certification grade and crew size at once.
- Crew size — you're paying each official individually, so a two- or three-person crew multiplies the per-game total.
- Notice — every rate on this page is standard, booked-ahead pricing. Same-day and last-minute requests add a 25-50% premium across the board, covered in our youth referee cost guide.
- Adult vs. youth — the base rate tracks similarly by sport; what changes is who pays and how, per our adult league referee cost guide.
Comparing Costs Across Multiple Sports?
Tell us every sport and level your program runs — we'll quote each one against the right structure, in one conversation.
Get a Multi-Sport Quote at EmergencyRefs.com →Budgeting Across a Full Season or Multiple Sports
Programs that run more than one sport — a rec department covering soccer, basketball, and baseball across the year, or a school athletic office coordinating six or seven varsity programs — rarely budget them all the same way, and this table is meant to make that comparison faster than reading six separate guides. Multiply your per-sport rate by expected game count, add crew size where it applies, and build in a 10-15% contingency for last-minute fills; our full budgeting walkthrough covers the math step by step.
Need Pricing for a Specific Sport and Level?
Tell us the sport, age group, and format. We'll confirm an exact number before you commit — no game-day surprises.
Request a Quote at EmergencyRefs.com →Frequently Asked Questions
Youth rec flag football and soccer sit lowest, typically $40-$65. More broadly, rec-level single-official games are the cheapest booking type across almost any sport.
Ice hockey and varsity wrestling duals run highest, often $130-$150+, driven by multi-official crews (hockey) or the length and physical demand of a dual card (wrestling).
Panel-judged and meet-based sports price around event structure — judge count, heats, mats, meet length — rather than a flat per-game rate. We quote those after hearing your format.
Not much — the rate follows certification, crew size, and game length, not age. What differs is who pays and how.
No — these are standard booked-ahead rates. Same-day requests typically add 25-50% on top, across every sport.